Drinking to get drunk is part of student life but it needs to stop, writes a student blogger. Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty Images

It's no secret that we students regularly enjoy a drink or three, despite being aware of the damaging effects on our health. The recent NekNomination craze has been linked to several deaths, yet students keep on bingeing. When did drinking to have fun become drinking to get drunk?

Health officials and concerned parents advise us not to mix drinks or to drink on an empty stomach. They don't realise it's exactly what we'll do if it means getting very drunk, very quickly. The aim of the game is to get messy – at any student pre-drinks there will be at least someone who says: "I want to get absolutely smashed tonight."

Alcohol education charity Drinkaware has studied drinking culture among young adults and says: "Many say they feel like they have to be drunk to have a good time. Our research shows that six in ten people aged 18-24 say they drink with the intention of getting drunk at least occasionally."

Some students choose not to drink at all, or at least wouldn't drink to the extent that they lose control. But so-called "lad culture" dominates university social life, and encourages dangerous drinking behaviour.

The NekNomination craze that infiltrated Facebook recently is a prime example of peer pressure among students leading to excessive drinking. While it may be a minority who take it too far by guzzling bottles of spirits, thousands of likes and shares on Facebook of NekNominates validate and actively encourage this behaviour.

Sally Cross, a student at Cardiff University, says: "I think the NekNominations are reckless and unnecessary. It's a way to grab attention from your peers but people don't consider the physical harm and the way this type of social networking can come across to potential employers."

It's worth asking why we students feel the need to drink so excessively. Being sick or thrown out of a club is no fun. And the mammoth hangover and loss of dignity the morning after just isn't worth it.

But peer pressure can be a difficult thing – whenever I have a night out without drinking, other people tend to comment on my sobriety. They will ask why I'm being "boring", even if I'm having a good time.

Strangers will stagger over to tell me to "cheer up love". It is these people, along with the awkward dancing that comes with in-tact inhibitions, who drive me to tequila shots and Jäger Bombs.

A third year student who wanted to remain anonymous, received a life ban from Cardiff student union for his drunken antics.

He says: "Anyone who drinks too much and starts purposefully kicking off should be frowned upon, but if you can go out and get really drunk and not cause harm to others then why not? At my rugby club we regularly do drinking challenges, but everyone looks out for each other.

"When I appealed against my ban from the union, the staff begrudged students for drinking too much and causing trouble, yet they offer £1.20 pints and £1 shots. That's the ultimate hypocrisy in my opinion."

Binge drinking is on the rise across the UK, and not just with students. An NHS report published last year showed that the number of alcohol-related hospital admittances doubled in 2012 compared to a decade earlier.

The majority of students I know would turn their nose up at older generations if they were seen rolling drunkenly in the streets before the pubs have even opened, but in our student culture it's viewed as entertaining.

It's true that we have fewer responsibilities as students, but we owe it to ourselves and our health to know where to draw the line.

If you are concerned that alcohol consumption may be affecting your health, ring Drinkline on 0800 917 8282.